Power leads final practice before Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama qualifying

Apr. 23, 2016 at
12:56 a.m.

Updated:
Apr. 23, 2016 at
12:56 a.m.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – One rarely has to look far to find Will Power’s name on the starting grid at the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama.

The Team Penske driver has qualified first or second in five of the six previous Verizon IndyCar Series events at Barber Motorsports Park. To see Power’s No. 12 Verizon Chevrolet atop the leaderboard in today’s final practice before Verizon P1 Award knockout qualifying this afternoon is hardly earth-shattering.

Power clocked a best lap of 1 minute, 7.0198 seconds (123.546 mph) on the undulating 2.3-mile permanent road course to place himself as the favorite to win the pole a fourth time at Barber. The lap set on the slower Firestone primary tires is less than three-tenths of a second shy of Scott Dixon’s track record of 1:06.7750 (123.999 mph) from 2013.

Dixon was second in today’s practice with a lap of 1:07.1173 (123.366 mph) in the No. 9 Coca-Cola Chevrolet for Chip Ganassi Racing. A pair of Honda drivers – James Hinchcliffe in the No. 5 Arrow Schmidt Peterson Motorsports entry (1:07.1325) and Carlos Munoz in the No. 26 Andretti Autosport car (1:07.1795) – tucked in right behind Dixon.

Simon Pagenaud, the current Verizon IndyCar Series points leader fresh off his win a week ago at the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach, was fifth fastest in the No. 22 PPG Automotive Refinish Chevrolet for Team Penske.

Twenty of the 21 cars came within a second of Power’s fast lap.

Three rounds of knockout qualifying to determine the Verizon P1 Award winner begin at 4 p.m. ET. Live coverage is available on NBCSN and the Advance Auto Parts INDYCAR Radio Network (Sirius 212, XM 209, IndyCar.com, indycarradio.com).

The seventh annual Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama, 90 laps on the 2.3-mile circuit, is set for Sunday. Live coverage begins at 3 p.m. ET on NBCSN and the Advance Auto Parts INDYCAR Radio Network (network affiliates plus the outlets mentioned above), with the green flag scheduled for 3:45 p.m. ET.